LIFE AND TIME OF CHIEF DANIEL OLORUNFEMI FAGUNWA (D.O. FAGUNWA) MBE... THE ICONOCLASTIC YORUBA WRITER

 Daniel Olorunfemi Fagunwa, born in 1903, attended St. Luke’s Primary School, Oke Igbo, from 1916 to 1924 and then taught there afterward, as a pupil teacher for a year. He then trained as a teacher of St. Andrew’s

College Oyo, from 1926 to 1929. He was the foundation Headmaster at St Andrew’s Practising Primary School, Oyo from 1930 to 1939.It was in Oyo that his writing skill blossomed; D. O. Fagunwa was the first Nigerian writer to employ folk philosophy in telling his stories most especially in folk philosophy, which draws heavily on folk tale traditions, including supernatural elements, gnomes, witches, wizards and Yoruba hunters who were usually his heroes

Daniel Olorunfemi Fagunwa could also be accorded recognition, as the greatest writer of the Yoruba Language Literature. He pioneered Yoruba Language novel and remains the most widely read Yoruba language author. Fagunwa's novels draw heavily on folktale traditions and idioms, including many supernatural elements. His heroes are usually Yoruba hunters, who interact with kings, sages, and even gods in their quests. Thematically, his novels also explore the divide between the Christian beliefs of Africa's colonizers and the continent's traditional religions. Fagunwa remains the most widely read Yorùbá-language author, and a major influence on such contemporary writers as Amos Tutuola author of “The Palm Wine Drinkard”.

 In 1938, entering a literary contest of the Nigerian education ministry, he wrote -”Ogboju Ode ninu Igbo in irunmale”, widely considered the first novel written in the Yoruba language and was widely considered to be the first novel written in any African language. The Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, translated this book into English Language in 1968 as “The Forest of a Thousand Demons.” His later work include “Igbo Eledumare” (Forest of God) in 1949, “Ireke Onibudo”(The Sugar Cane of the Guardian) in 1949, “Irinkerindo ninu Igbo Elegbeje” (Expedition to the mount of thoughts) in 1954 and “Adittu Olodumare”(The Secrets of the Almighty) in 1961. He was also writing Part 2 of “Adittu Olodumare” which he called “Ireola Olodumare” (Experience the Land of the Almighty), before his demise. Unfortunately, nobody could trace the manuscript, after his passage.

 Fagunwa was always constantly researching and writing. He was always with a pen and paper in his car, while sitting comfortably at the back of his car while being driven. As an iconoclastic Yoruba writer, he was chief interpreter (from English to yoruba), to the Premier/Governor of the Western Region, while in government service. When you read his book, you would think that the book was written by a demon. He left government service in December 1961, to work as the first Nigerian Manager and Representative, to establish the Nigerian Office of Heinemann Publishers and he started Heinemann Publishers from his House in Ojanla Street, Oke-Ado Ibadan. Anthony Fayemi, his Personal Assistant/Confidant, also, had to retire from the government service to join Fagunwa in Heinemann Publishers. Unfortunately, Fagunwa died at the end of the second year and was succeeded by Aigboje Higo.

Fagunwa in his writing saga had very little time to himself, even though he was married to two wives. He used to get up in the night and drive out. He went to cemeteries and other places, sat there and thought of what to write with an expectation, that perhaps a spirit would come up and say something to him. His Personal Assistant/ Confidant, Anthony Olajide Fayemi-an indigene of Ile-Ife, recalled that if you travelled with Fagunwa from Ibadan to Lagos, when there was not much traffic gridlocks, you wouldn’t arrive there until about 3pm or 4pm… Why? He never went straight to his destination. If a rabbit ran across the road, he would ask the driver to stop, he would check where it passed and ask what it meant if a rabbit came from the left side of the road to the right side. He would query himself. If it was a bird, he would stop and if the bird flew or ran somehow, he would have something to put down.

HOW HE WROTE HIS FIRST BOOK

When he was going to write Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irumole, he was at Oyo as headmaster of St. Andrew’s Practising School. The idea came to him to write, after all those who wrote books were human beings like him. He said from the town he came to Ibadan road and created a path through a bush to a very big tree which was so huge that you couldn’t see sunrays under the tree.

That was where he started writing this book. He didn’t know that opposite the road he created, there was a woman selling yam and other things in a kiosk. He didn’t know that the woman was suspecting that he wasn’t a human being – he used to come out of the bush to buy yam and returned there. The road didn’t lead to anywhere.

The woman contacted some hunters and the villagers to search the bush. God saved him. The period they came was when he had gone out to buy yam, otherwise they would have searched the place and could have killed him while doing so.

He was returning to the bush after buying yam when those men stopped him. They asked him where he was going and where he came from. He said he told them stories about himself. They asked, “You say you are writing a book, is it in the bush that writers work?”

They followed him into the bush and saw the small table, chair and books on the table. They asked him where he originated from. He told them and that he was the headmaster of St. Andrew’s Practising School. That was how they spared him.

After finishing writing the book, the problem of printing arose. He didn’t know anything about publishing at that time. He was just worried about printing the book. He had no money on him. Then somebody told him to go to CMS. It was the Europeans who were at the head of affairs there and they were into book selling and publishing. So, when he was on holidays, he went to Lagos. He went to CMS, met the general manager and told him about his book. The general manager called a Yoruba man there to study the book. In about 30 minutes or so, the man came back and said, “This is a very good book, it’s going to sell.” They accepted the manuscript. He said he was shocked when they asked him how much they should pay for it. He just wanted them to print it. He asked them how much they wanted to pay him.

After a little bargain, they offered him £20, which he declined. They however settled for £25. They asked him, “Do you want cash or cheque?” He said cash, because cheque wasn’t popular. In Ibadan, there were only two banks – Barclays Bank and Bank of British West Africa, BBWA, which have now metamorphosed into First Bank plc and Union Bank plc. So, they told the cashier to pay him. He said even when he was coming down from the building, he was looking back, feeling that they would call him back to say, “You thief, what have you done to earn £25?”

From that £25, he prepared for his wedding to his first wife. He bought a Raleigh bicycle, a gramophone, some records, iron bed, mattress and so many other things. He was able to hire a vehicle from Lagos to bring him to Oyo. When he got to Oyo, his fiancée asked him where he got money to buy those things.

He said that was how he wrote his first book. Then he started planning to write another one. By the time he wrote Igbo Olodumare or so, he said he had an idea about publishing. He gave the book to Thomas Nelson who published it and paid him royalties. He then felt that, so one could sit down and earn money without writing every day. He said at that time Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irumale, which was published by CMS, was out of circulation. Following what he was getting from Nelson, he asked himself why Ogboju Ode…, the first book, was yielding no money. So, it occurred to him to go and ask why it was no longer circulating. He said they told him that they were book sellers and that they had stopped combining book selling with publishing. He then told them to return his manuscript. The general manager returned it to him. He sent it to Nelson again for publishing. That’s was how Nelson became publisher of Ogboju Ode …

HOW HE DIED

 Fagunwa’s last voyage was equally interesting and mystical. His boss in Heinemann London had sent him a cablegram, that Alan Hill and Chris Ambrose were coming to Nigeria and that he should fly from Ibadan to Kano, to meet them at the Kano Airport. The driver took the car and left in advance to Kano from Ibadan. Fagunwa flew to Kano and met them. After meeting the Heinemann duo, of Alan Hill and Chris Ambrose, they discussed the growth of the Publishing House and how to source for good writers in Nigeria. Allan and Chris returned back to London and Fagunwa had to come back to Ibadan by road. Fagunwa was stopping on his way back to Ibadan to visit schools, ministries of Education, until he got to Bida. It was late, so he slept in a hotel. The following morning, he left because there was a river Wuya on the way that had no bridge. There, they had to take a ferry, conveying people and vehicles across the river. He woke up early, because he thought he was going to queue at the river, but when he got to the bank of the river, they were disappointed, because there was no one there at all. He told his driver, James, an Ibadan man, to wait, while he followed one path by the bank of the river. The driver shortly after Fagunwa left him started hearing splashes of water, only to realize that Fagunwa had slipped by the river bank into the river. The canoe by the river side had also unfortunately tumbled on Fagunwa, thus the efforts to swim across the river and also rescue him, failed, because it was dawn and hammattan was also at its peak. Fagunwa’s body was discovered three days after.   According to the villagers, if an elephant fell into the river, after one night, it would not be found again. But there was no scratch on Fagunwa’s body when he was discovered the third day. He was found fresh, erect and was also still holding his eye glasses. His wrist watch and other accessories were intact. He still had his cap on his head. He still had his shoes on and also his complete agbada. Fagunwa’s remains were buried at the cemetery of the St. Luke’s Anglican Church, Oke-Igbo- his home town on the 10th of December, 1963. His body did not disappear as was being speculated. He was from a Christian home. His father was the Baba Ijo of Saint Luke’s Church (Church Patriarch) in Okeigbo and his mother at a later date also, became the IyaIjo (church matriach) of the same church. He was a regular member of the Saint James Anglican Church, Oke-bola Ibadan (now Cathedral) and also his home church at Oke Igbo. Despite being an imaginative writer, writing about bizzare and fairy tales, about “iwin” and demons, he was certainly not one.

 He was married to two wives and had five children- two from the first wife and his last three, from the second wife. His first wife was from Ode-Omu in Osun State, while his second wife is from Oke Igbo, in Ondo State. Fagunwa, the first Yoruba writer, perhaps after Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowder interpreted the English Bible into Yoruba Language, should be recognized, applauded and celebrated always.

Fagunwa was awarded the Margaret Wrong Prize in 1955 and was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1959. Fagunwa Memorial High School and Fagunwa Grammar School in Oke-Igbo, Nigeria, are named for Fagunwa. His daughter Yejide Ogundipe serves as a council chairperson for Ile Oluji/Okeigbo.